Conor McGregor Puts $500K Bet Down on Chandler by TKO at UFC 314

Posted on: April 13, 2025, 03:20h. 

Last updated on: April 13, 2025, 03:20h.

Mark Keast Read More

Expertise: Canadian Gaming, iGaming, Las Vegas, Sports Betting, NFL, Boxing, UFC.

It was a great night of action last night in Miami at UFC 314, but not so much on the betting front for former dual-weight champion Conor McGregor, who put down a bet of $500,000 on Michael Chandler in his co-main event lightweight fight with Paddy Pimblett.

Huge Bet

U.S. President Donald Trump was in the crowd, a guest of UFC president Dana White. Elon Musk and his son sat next to Trump in the front row. 

McGregor hasn’t fought in the UFC Octagon since breaking his leg in a TKO loss to Dustin Poirier in July 2021. He was supposed to make his comeback against Chandler at UFC 303 last June but had to pull out weeks before because of an injured toe. McGregor has lost three of his last four UFC fights.

The McGregor and Chandler rivalry is alive and well, though, with the Irishman clearly holding respect for Chandler.

Chandler by TKO 

The Notorious is BACK with @Duelbits, baby! I’m callin’ it: Chandler by BRUTAL KO!” McGregor said on X. “I know Paddy has improved his last few outings but I still fancy Chandler to do it. The odds of a knockout are just too tasty at Duelbits (5.00, with a potential boosted payout of $2.5 million).

Whether McGregor, 36, ever climbs into the Octagon and fights again is anyone’g guess now. McGregor is running for President of Ireland (elections are later this year), inspired to do after a visit at the White House with Trump in March. He has outside business interest – including a new cigar brand launched in February.

Last night, Pimblett dominated Chandler, out-striking and out-grappling him, winning the fight by TKO at 3:07 of Round 3. That was Pimblett’s seventh consecutive UFC win (he was -150 to Chandler’s +125 at BetMGM going into the fight).

“Paddy the Baddy” Prevails

“Paddy the Baddy” will vault into the Top 10 in the UFC’s lightweight division with the win.

“I respect Michael a lot, he’s a great fighter, but I am the new guard, he’s the old guard,” Pimblett said after the fight.

In the main event last night, Alexander Volkanovski defeated Diego Lopes by unanimous decision in the featherweight category. Volkanovski is once again UFC featherweight champion (he was the betting favorite at -145 going in).

Yair Rodriguez defeated Patricio “Pitbull” Freire by unanimous decision, led a lightning-fast right in the third that sent Pitbull to the canvas. 

Jean Silva of Brazil choked out Bryce Mitchell of the USA at 3:52 of Round 2. Silva was the big betting favourite going in, at -225.

Dominick Reyes was very impressive with a KO by left hand over Nikita Krylov at 2:24 of Round 1 in a light heavyweight fight. That’s three wins in a row for Reyes now – enjoying a resurgence after a losing streak of four in a row.